|
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Dominicans formed orderly lines at voting stations across thecountry Sunday to choose a new president from a field that includesa brash former president whose last term ended with an economiccrisis and a technocrat from the governing party that has spent thepast eight years on a public works spending spree. Voting appeared smooth though several people told The AssociatedPress that backers of ruling party candidate Danilo Medina wereoffering people payments of about $15 to vote for their candidateor to withhold their vote for his opponent. Medina campaignorganizers denied the allegations, which have circulated in thecountry for weeks. Franisco Alvarez, coordinating the 3,000 observers of the civicgroup Citizen Participation, said many reports had come in fromaround the country of vote-buying by local workers for both thegoverning Dominican Liberation Party and the main oppositionDominican Revolutionary Party. "Both the PRD and the PLD, in large measure, have been engaging inthis practice," Alvarez said at a news conference. Still, Roberto Rosario, president of the national ElectoralCommission, said that voting had been "massive and peaceful" andthat there were no major incidents tainting the vote. Medina hoped to succeed President Leonel Fernandez, who spentbillions on such major infrastructure projects as a subway system,hospitals and roads to modernize a country that is the top touristdestination in the Caribbean but remains largely poor. Many voters conceded that Medina, a 60-year-old stalwart of theruling Dominican Liberation Party, wasn't a particularly excitingcandidate, but said they were eager for a stability in a countrywith a history of economic and political turmoil. "I don't want major change," said Amauris Chang, a 59-year-old shopowner. "I want the country to grow and I want it to be peaceful,and I think that's a common idea among people who are civilized." Six candidates were running for president, but Medina's mainopponent was former President Hipolito Mejia, who lost his bid fora second term in 2004 because of a deep economic crisis sparked bythe collapse of three banks. Mejia, a garrulous populist, and his Dominican Revolutionary Partyhave a devoted following. His supporters sought to portray some ofthe public works spending as wasteful and benefiting backers of thepresident, and insisted he wasn't to blame for the 2004 economiccrisis. "The crisis could have happened to any government. It had nothingto do with Hipolito Mejia," said 62-year-old maintenance man AlonsoCalcano. Mejia trounced Medina when they ran against each other in 2000. Butseveral polls ahead of Sunday's vote put Medina ahead, with enoughsupport to surpass 50 percent of the vote and avoid a runoff. Bothmen said they were confident of victory after casting their votes. Rosario Espinal, a leading political analyst for the DominicanRepublic, said the outcome would largely depend on swing voters whoaren't committed to either major party. She said there was a lot ofdisenchantment with the government, particularly because of thehigh cost of living and lack of good jobs, but it was not clearwhether that was enough to overcome memories of the crisis at theend of Mejia's term. "The question is whether they are more tired of the currentgovernment or more fearful of what might happen under Mejia," saidEspinal, director of the Latin American Studies Center at TempleUniversity in Philadelphia. Besides president, Dominicans were electing a vice president from afield that included the heavily favored first lady, MargaritaCedeno de Fernandez, and seven members of the Chamber of Deputieswho will represent people who have settled overseas. Tens ofthousands were expected to cast ballots in places with largenumbers of Dominicans, including New York, New Jersey, Florida andPuerto Rico. Politics in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island ofHispaniola with Haiti, largely revolves around the two mainparties. Both have Marxist roots but have come to embrace freetrade, generally pro-business policies and close ties to the U.S.The PLD is considered center-right and the PRD center-left, buttheir differences largely turn on personality, loyalty andpatronage. The presence of the first lady was something of a wild card. MarthaJimenez, a 29-year-old who sells lottery tickets, said she hadalways supported the PRD but this year was supporting the DominicanLiberation Party of Cedeno because the first lady helped her sisterget a skin transplant after she was badly burned in an accident. "I don't know how to thank her. She has given us so much," Jimenezsaid. Both presidential candidates proposed to increase spending oneducation and to do what they can to create jobs in a country of 10million people that is largely dependent on tourism and whereunemployment is officially about 14 percent, though the vastmajority of workers are in the poorly paid informal sector. Thetypical salary for those who do have regular jobs is around $260 amonth. The Dominican Republic has also become an important route for drugsmugglers seeking to reach the U.S. through nearby Puerto Rico andthere are widespread concerns about the influence of drugtrafficking. The candidates also traded accusations of incompetenceand corruption. Mejia, a 71-year-old who refers to himself as "Papa" and styleshimself as a man of the people, enlivened the campaign with some ofthe verbal missteps for which he has long been famous. Mostrecently, he joked that house maids are prone to steal meat fromthe houses where they work so they can give it to their boyfriends,not a wise comment in a country where more than half the populationworks in the informal section, many of them as maids. Mejia "talks a lot of nonsense," said Maria Altagracia Ramirez, a26-year-old maid. "How could I vote for him? That man is crazy.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Dimmable LED Downlights , Waterproof LED Flood Light, and more. For more , please visit Surface Mounted LED Panel today!
Related Articles -
Dimmable LED Downlights, Waterproof LED Flood Light,
|
